Cigarette ash receiver



April 29, 1952 G. P. SCHMALING, SR

CIGARETTE ASH RECEIVER Filed NOV. 16, 1949 IN VEN TOR. $502 5 j? JZHMHLIZVG, J,

Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE CIGARETTE ASH RECEIVER George P. Schmaling, Sr., Armonk, N. Y.

Application November 16, 1949, Serial No. 127,625

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to cigarette ash receivers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette ash receiver wherein the cigarette must be supported fully within the 'ash receiver and not on the rim or edge of the same from which it will be apt to fall, the invention thus preventing the burning of furniture, rugs and the starting generally of fires.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cigarette ash receiver wherein it is not necessary to crush the cigarette butt to extinguish'it causing stained or burned fingers, but wherein the butt is extinguished by simply depositing the same through an aperture which is small and into a. vessel where there is little air and where it will extinguish itself without smouldering, thereby eliminating unnecessary smoke and objectionable odors.

t is another object of the present invention to provide an ash receiver wherein the ashes are confined within a vessel with a cover thereon which has only a small aperture to prevent the blowing away of the ashes as in the case of ordinary ash trays and wherein the cover or receiver will always appear clean and neat.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an ash receiver for cigarettes which is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, comprises only two parts, an apertured part and a vessel part easily fitted together or removed to empty the vessel, has a pleasing ap pearance and decorative as well as practical and efficient in operation. 7

For other objects and. for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in

which: 7

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ash receiver embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the receiver with a cigarette disposed therein in position to discharge its ashes from the lighted end of the same.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which the cigarette may burn as its ashes are discharged through the small aperture.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary and sectional view of the ash receiver slightly lifted from the reservoir or vessel.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of an ash receiver having a slightly different shape of rim.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a still further form of ash receiver wherein the rim is threaded to fix the same to the reservoir having a threaded upper end.

Referring now to the figures, iii represents a reservoir or bowl formed of any shape and color and adapted to receive a large number of cigarette butts and ashes. This bowl is adapted to rest on a fiat surface and has a wide top opening Ii. As viewed in Figs. 1 to 5, the exterior of the bowl about the top opening is smooth and adapted to receive in a tight fitting manner an ash receiver The Width of said receiver H2 at the upper end is of the order of three inches and a depending flange 53 has a tight fitting engagement with the smooth outer periphery of the vessel H2. The receiver 12 is generally of funnel shape and has a small central hole I l, only slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of a cigarette, and through which a cigarette butt can be easily de posited upon th butts being brought to a vertical position and not inclined and resting on the inner face of the receiver. When a cigarette, as indicated at it, is rested on said inner face and is dropped or placed in the receiver, lighted end first, it will not readily pass through the opening Hl. Immediately upon dropping the cigarette into the receiver, it will assume the position shown in Fig. 2 against the inclined inner face of the receiver, the lighted end of the cigarette will engage the wall of the opening Hi and will project only in part into said opening I l. The length of the inclined wall from the opening It to a top portion is of the flange I3 is greater than onehalf the length of the cigarette so that the larger part of the cigarette will always lie within the ash receiver to keep the mouth end of the cigarette free and extending upwardly. Inasmuch as the lighted end will extend across the opening, the edge of that opening will come into direct contact with the lighted end of the cigarette, dissipate the heat thereof, and in a period of time of about one minute, extinguish the same.

Near the top of the receiver an indentation ring formation 11 is provided forming a depression which aids in grasping the cigarette to remove it from the receiver. The thumb and finger can readily be placed under the cigarette to get a good grip on the same for its removal. Likewise, the depression will provide aspace so that the mouth end of the cigarette, even though the cigarette has burned down suiiiciently to position the mouth end well within the receiver, will be free and will not be dirtied by contact with the inner face of the receiver.

The dimensions of this receiver are more or less fixed and to vary them would depart from the spirit of the invention. The dimensions are fixed because the cigarettes are of given length coming in standard and long sizes. The angle of the wall of the receiver, in order to insure proper reception of the cigarette, should be substantially forty-five degrees from a horizontal plane extending across the open bottom end of the receiver. This angle is sufiicient to cause the automatic sliding of the cigarette downwardly toward the opening M. The opening 14 is of such diameter that it will not be possible for a cigarette to pass through the same while sliding on this inclined portion, as indicated generally at 18. By comparing the size of the opening l4 and the diameter of the cigarette in Figs. 2 and 3, it can be seen that the diameter of the opening [4 is on the order of seven-sixteenths of an inch. A cigarette which is merely dropped into the receiver will automatically take the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. If merely placed in the receiver, lighted end first, it will extinguish itself very shortly unless picked up again for further use. To finally dispos of the cigarette, it is held in a vertical position and readily dropped through the opening l4 without the use of any force other than gravity. The amount of air within the bowl It) quickly becomes utilized because of the smallness of the opening I4 and the cigarette, accordingly soon becomes extinguished therein.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a slightly modified form of flange which is rounded, as indicated at IS. The top of the bowl or reservoir is similarly rounded to receive this rounded flange. flange fits and tightly grips the top of the reservoir.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a still further form of the invention wherein the flange of the ash receiver is provided with threads, as indicated at 2|. The bowl is similarly provided with external threads for cooperation with said threads 2|. Accordingly, the ash receiver can be screwed on the bowl in an obvious manner.

It will be apparent that in all of these forms of the invention that the receiver is tightly fitted onthe bowl and that should the bowl or reservoir become upset, there is little chance for the receiver to become detached from the same and that few or no ashes could possibly leave the reservoir, Even if the reservoir were inverted with the ash receiver facing downwardly, few if any Of the cigarette stubs could possibly pass through the opening M and the ashes would tend to slide down the inner face of the inclined wall of the receiver and away from the opening I4.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended e,

claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette ash receiver comprising a receptacle having a base, a wall extending upwardly therefrom having a free upper edge forming a, mouth, a removable ash and cigarette receiving cover fitted over the mouth of the bowl, said cover being generally funnel shaped and having a centrally disposed opening and a straight inclined wall portion extending downwardly within the bowl and terminating in the centrally disposed opening, said centrally dis- The -'. half the length of a conventional cigarette, said straight inclined wall portion serving as a rest or support for the cigarette and to direct its downward movement and the ashes thereof into the opening as it burns, and the edge of said opening coacting to engage the end of a cigarette and serving as a stop for the lighted end of the cigarette to prevent it from falling through said opening when said cigarette is in a supported position on said inclined wall.

2. A cover for an ash tray comprising a peripheral portion adapted to cover the upper edge portion of an opening of an ash tray and a portion of the exterior wall at said edge portion, said peripheral portion merging into a part defining a funnel having a lower wall section of true frusto-conical shape having its small base defining a centrally disposed opening of substantially seven-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and an inclined cigarette supporting wall surface inclined at an angle substantially forty-five degrees outwardly and upwardly from the plane of the centrally disposed opening and serving to direct the downward movement of the cigarette and the ashes thereof toward the centrally disposed opening, a second wall section defining a frustum of a cone having its side wall exteriorly at an obtuse angle to the side wall of the first cone and a third wall section defining a frustum of a cone having a side wall whose interior surface defines an obtuse angle with the interior surface of the second section whereby a cigarette resting in any position Within the cover has its lighted end thereof in engagement with the edge of the centrally disposed opening of the smaller base of the first conical wall section, another portion of the cigarette in contact with the first frusto-conical inclined surface, the remaining interior surfaces of the second and third conical wall sections defining with the cigarette a space to facilitate placing the finger of an operator beneath the cigarette so as to readily remove it from its position of rest in the cover, the distance from the centrally disposed opening to the larger base of the third wall section being greater than onehalf the length of a conventional cigarette.

GEORGE P. SCHMALING, Sn.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D.l03,917 Sneddon et a1. Mar. 30, 1937 1,512,765 Home Oct. 21, 1924 1,627,233 DArleux May 3, 1927 1,693,263 Burger Nov. 27, 1923 1,767,476 Putterman June 24, 1930 2,087,360 Shekerjian July 20, 1937 2,152,285 Schirmer Mar. 28, 1939 2,287,694 McDonald June 23, 19 .2 

